Arizona knew the odds were against it Saturday in a couple of ways — facing dominant NiJaree Canady of Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament championship and the unlikelihood of being selected as a host in the NCAA Tournament Super Regional round.
The Wildcats used the strategy of matching lefty Ryan Maddox as a starter against Texas Tech’s predominant left-handed lineup in this scenario with the hope the Wildcats could still emerge victorious.
Texas Tech rallied for four runs in the second inning against Maddox, a redshirt freshman who had her seventh start of the season, and those runs stood in a 4-0 victory for the Red Raiders (45-12) at Oklahoma City.
“I thought she was a great matchup for them,” Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe said in the postgame press conference according to report by Kim Doss at AZDesertSwarm. “I thought she had a great first inning (retiring the side), and we got a little bit behind in the second. But, again, we got to do a little bit more damage and create in some other areas to back her up.”
Arizona (45-11) will still likely host a regional next weekend. The NCAA tournament bracket will be announced Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPN2. If the Wildcats get through the regional, they will probably travel for the Super Regional the following week. The Wildcats presently have a No. 11 RPI.
The Red Raiders sent eight batters to the plate in the four-run rally against Maddox (3-2).
Victoria Valdez hit an RBI single, Hailey Toney had a two-run double and Mihyia Davis produced a run-scoring single in the inning.
Canady (26-5) only needed one of those runs. Four of them were a luxury.
She cruised to a two-hitter with two walks and eight strikeouts in the complete-game shutout. Arizona did not advance a runner past second base against Canady, who beat Arizona twice in a three-game series at Hillenbrand last month.
Miranda Stoddard relieved Maddox to begin the third inning and did not allow a hit in her four innings in the circle. She struck out three and walked two.
“I mean, Ryan’s a dog,” Lowe explained further about starting Maddox instead of Stoddard or ace Devyn Netz. “She’s a phenomenal pitcher, and she’s going to have the ball in big moments for us for her entire career. This is just one of those times, and it’s not her entire story.
“This is the beginning of her story. I think that’s really important. I want her to have the ball in pressure situations. She’s built for those moments. … I think we need to create momentum in other ways than just on the mound and rely on that.”
Stoddard said her performance is an indication of how she and her teammates can support each other.
“I think it’s built a good culture in the bullpen of just knowing that we can rely on each other,” she said. “You might be the starter. You might be the closer. You might go in for one batter — knowing that we’ll be able to do our job and then someone else will pick us up if we’re not able to.”
Netz, Regan Shockey and Sydney Stewart were selected to the All-Big12 Tournament Team.
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